Palisades Park debuts text-alert system

PALISADES PARK — A town website still needs to be launched, but the Police Department has started to use a text-alert system to communicate with residents.

The department is one of dozens of agencies in Bergen County that has used Nixle in the past few weeks to notify residents of approaching storms, school and Borough Hall closings, and parking restrictions.

The borough sent its first notice, a test message, on Feb. 6, followed later by a half-dozen more that were sent prior to and during the snowfalls. Nearly 300 people got the last alert, and now officials are urging them to sign up for the free service.

"We want people to know about this right away, because it's the quickest way to get information to people," said Mayor James Rotundo on Wednesday.

Residents can text their ZIP code to 888777 or register online at nixle.com to get the messages on their cellphones or through email. The service is free to the borough and the residents who sign up.

Palisades Park uses the reverse 911 system to alert residents of important information, but police Lt. Matthew Finck said the Nixle alerts can reach residents who may not be at home when those calls are made.

The alerts are available in Spanish for agencies that pay a fee for that service, said Jim Gatta, spokesman for Nixle. He said the company offers only English and Spanish alerts, but that could change depending on requests.

Finck said that depending on the success the town with Nixle he may approach the mayor and council about asking the company to offer the alerts in Korean.

Parking changes

Rotundo and borough officials are warning residents that, because of snow mounds, alternate-side-of-the-street parking will be enforced.

Rotundo said the snow has led him to consider changing traffic flow on some streets to one way, and to further limit parking in some areas during snowfalls. He said he plans to talk to a traffic expert in coming days.

Town officials have also implemented a new resident parking sticker program, and are asking all residents to register their cars, even if they did so more than two years ago.

A blue decal will now be given to town residents to display on their cars so they can park overnight. Residents must present two proofs of address, their driver's license, car registration and insurance information. They will also receive a visitor's pass for overnight guests to display on their vehicles, Rotundo said.